This invention relates to a pre-paid purchasing system and a method for activating a transaction for purchasing goods or services from the Internet, mail-order catalogues, or other merchants. The purchasing system comprises a pre-paid card with a multiple code system, with access codes and security codes. Advantageously, access codes and security codes are stored or printed on two separate cards and the codes from each card working in conjunction with each other.
Merchants selling their products to the consumers commonly accept credit cards for the purchasing of their goods. Consumers often use their credit cards for all their purchasing needs, be it from the Internet, mail-order catalogues, or any merchant selling goods or services, who except credit cards.
Credit cards are designed to create a convenient method for the consumers to make purchases, but there are some major disadvantages to having and using a credit card. For example, when a person has their credit card stolen or loses their credit card. The owner of the lost, or stolen credit card has to call the financial institution of that credit card to report and cancel the lost, or stolen credit card. After calling the financial institution and cancelling the lost or stolen credit, that person has to wait for a new credit card to arrive from the financial institution. Which creates an inconvenience to the cardholder, if that lost or stolen credit card is their only credit card. Also, someone other than the owner of the lost or stolen credit card, making a purchase on the lost or stolen credit card, before the owner of the lost or stolen credit card can call the financial institution of that credit card to report their credit card has been lost or stolen. If a charge is made to the lost or stolen credit card, the owner of the lost or stolen credit card has to prove to the financial institution, they didn't make that particular charge.
There is no secure system to protect the consumer from having their credit card stolen and used by the person who has stolen the credit card, or from having their credit card number stolen and cloned, which can then be sold to interested parties. A high security risk area for consumers using their credit card is the Internet. When consumers enter their credit card number for the purchase they are making, their credit card number can be intercepted by a computer hacker. The stolen credit card number can be used by the person who intercepted the number, or the credit card numbers can be cloned and sold to interested parties throughout the world, and used to make numerous purchases illegally. Long before the owner of the credit card becomes aware of what has happened. The theft of credit card numbers from the Internet has long been a problem which causes a great inconvenience to the card holder. The same holds true for mail-order catalogues. Consumers using their credit card when making a purchase from mail-order catalogues, are also at risk of having their credit card number stolen and used by someone other than the owner of the credit card.
Also, some consumers who use credit cards, are at risk of spending money they don't have. With a credit card, you buy now pay later, which often leads to some consumers spending more money than they have. Which makes it very difficult for that consumer to pay their monthly credit card statement, and possibly go into debt.
On the other hand there are consumers who are limited to using cash, a money order, or writing a personal check to make a purchase, because they are without a credit card. Also, there are financial institutions that offer people with a bad credit history, credit cards, but in order for a person to obtain a credit card from these financial institutions, a person must make a deposit of money in to an account at that particular financial institution. This type of credit card is referred to as a secured credit card. With secured credit cards, comes a very high interest rate, which the person obtaining a secured credit card has to accept if they want to have a credit card.